ComEd Residential Price To Compare Increases 15%; Ameren PTC Up 12%

New Prices to Compare have taken effect for Commonwealth Edison (ComEd) and Ameren in Illinois on October 1.

At ComEd, the residential PTC increased 15% to 7.777 cents per kWh, from the September rate of 6.776 cents per kWh.

At Ameren, the new October 1 PTC varies by usage: 5.407 cents per kWh for usage 0 - 800kWh and 5.209 cents per kWh for usage > 800kWh. The October 1 rate of 5.407 cents per kWh is 12% higher than the flat PTC of 4.821 cents per kWh which had applied in September.

The new PTCs are to be in place through May 2022

In light of the electric rate increases, the Illinois Citizens Utility Board warned customers against marketing and rates from competitive retail electric suppliers, especially as the Illinois Commerce Commission has lifted, with conditions, a prohibition on door to door marketing (as first reported by EnergyChoiceMatters.com yesterday)

CUB said that, "Now that a pandemic-related ban on door-to-door marketing has been lifted, CUB warned Illinois consumers to beware of unscrupulous alternative supplier sales representatives that may try to take advantage of news about higher utility supply rates to lure customers into bad deals."

"Beware of alternative supplier rip-offs. This week, state regulators lifted a pandemic-related ban on door-to-door alternative supplier marketing that had been in place for about 18 months. CUB is concerned that sales representatives will use marketing ploys that take advantage of the higher utility prices to lure customers into bad deals," CUB said

"A market with higher utility prices is fertile ground for misleading, high-pressure sales pitches and rip-offs," said CUB Executive Director David Kolata.

"Alternative suppliers are subject to the same market conditions that impact utility power prices, but they are allowed to set their prices as high as they want. Far from being an opportunity to save money, the electric and natural gas markets have been rife with bad deals and rip-offs. If an alternative supplier offers a deal that seems too good to be true, there's a good chance it is. Your utility is likely your best bet," CUB said